COLUMBUS – Columbus Crew SC today announced that goalkeeper Zack Steffen, midfielder Wil Trapp and forward Gyasi Zardes have received international call-ups from the United States Men’s National Team. The U.S. is set to face five-time World Cup Champions Brazil in a friendly match at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey on September 7 before facing CONCACAF rival Mexico at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tennessee on September 11.
The friendly contests against Brazil and Mexico are part of five currently scheduled matches for the U.S. Men’s National Team in 2018. The match against Brazil marks the first contest between the two teams since a match at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts on September 8, 2015. The friendly against Mexico is set to be the first match between the two since a contest at Estadio Azteca in Mexico City, Mexico on June 11, 2017.
Goalkeeper Zack Steffen has earned three caps with the U.S. Men’s National Team, with his latest cap coming as a starter in a friendly against reigning FIFA World Cup Champions France on June 9, 2018. Steffen registered seven saves while helping the Stars and Stripes earn a 1-1 draw at Groupama Stadium in Lyon, France. Prior to featuring for the U.S. Men’s National Team, Steffen featured regularly for the United States’ youth national teams, from the Under-14 to the U-21 level.
Steffen is in his third season with Crew SC and has made 22 regular-season appearances (all starts), while registering eight shutouts in 2018. The goalkeeper recorded a 525-minute shutout streak in regular-season action from a home match against the San Jose Earthquakes (April 28) to a home contest against Atlanta United FC (June 13), the longest regular-season shutout streak in Crew SC history and the eighth longest in MLS history. Additionally, the 23-year-old Steffen made a second-half appearance in goal in the 2018 MLS All-Star Game against Italian side Juventus, making three saves in match action, his first All-Star appearance.
Crew SC captain Wil Trapp has represented the Stars and Stripes at the senior level on six occasions, most recently wearing the captain’s armband as a starter in a 1-1 draw against France on June 9, 2018. Previously, Trapp represented the U.S. at the youth level, having participated in Olympic qualifying with the U.S. U-23 squad, captaining the team against Colombia in both legs of the playoff for the 2016 Summer Olympics.
In 2018, Trapp’s sixth season with the Black & Gold, he has made 23 regular-season appearances (all starts), while providing one assist and scoring one goal – a stoppage-time, game-winning strike in a home contest against Orlando City SC on July 21. Additionally, Trapp leads Crew SC in the following categories in 2018: passes (1,572), successful passes (1,391) and passes into the final third (260), per Opta. In 2017, the midfielder led the League in completed passes (2,034) and was one of only two players, along with Toronto FC’s Michael Bradley, to successfully complete over 2,000 passes in regular-season action.
Gyasi Zardes has earned 38 caps with the U.S. Men’s National Team, scoring six goals. Zardes made his debut for the U.S. in a friendly against Chile on January 28, 2015, and he scored his first goal for the Stars and Stripes on June 5, 2015 against the Netherlands. The 26-year-old’s latest cap came as a starter in a friendly against Bosnia-Herzegovina at StubHub Center in Carson, California on January 28, 2018.
Zardes is in his first season with Crew SC, having joined the club on January 20, 2018. In 2018, Zardes has made 27 regular-season appearances (all starts) and scored 15 goals – just one goal shy of his single-season career-high of 16 goals which he achieved in 2014. The forward currently leads the Black & Gold in regular-season minutes played, with 2,408 minutes to his name. Additionally, Zardes’ 25.53 percent goal conversion rate - excluding penalties - is the third-highest in the MLS regular season this year among players who have taken at least 50 shots, behind only Atlanta United’s Josef Martinez (34.38%) and the New York Red Bulls’ Bradley Wright-Phillips (30.77%).
Crew SC’s current roster features eight players that have received a senior National Team call-up while with the club: Mohammed Abu, Harrison Afful, Cristian Martinez, Jonathan Mensah, Justin Meram, Zack Steffen, Wil Trapp and Gyasi Zardes.
Crew SC returns to action with a road contest at FC Dallas on Saturday, September 15 (8:00 p.m. ET / CW Columbus, Spectrum Sports, BCSN2, CD102.5 FM, English and Spanish audio broadcasts available on ColumbusCrewSC.com).
